The president’s proposed budget reflects a clear set of priorities, and those priorities come at the direct expense of federal programs that help millions of Americans meet their basic needs and achieve economic stability. 

Among the most concerning elements are the lack of restoration of cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and health care, and instead the imposition of additional reductions in the programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). These programs are proven pillars of economic mobility: They reduce hunger, improve health outcomes, support child development, and help families weather periods of economic instability. Failing to restore them and imposing reductions at a time of persistently high food prices and elevated hunger is not only a harmful policy but also a rejection of the longstanding American commitment to ensuring that every person has the opportunity to achieve economic mobility. 

Federal Nutrition Impacts  

SNAP 

The proposed budget includes a reduction in funding from $107.5 billion to $101.2 billion. This reduction results from fewer expected benefits issued, less state administration funds from $6.2 billion to $3.2 billion, no contingency for fiscal year (FY) 2027, and no funds allocated for SNAP online purchasing and technology improvements. It also maintains a reduced personnel budget, dropping from $82 million in FY 2025 to $56 million. This reduction raises concerns about the program’s ability to fully meet needs at a time when food insecurity remains high, and grocery prices continue to strain household budgets. The budget allocates a very modest $998,000 for Tribal nutrition demonstration projects and $4 million for milk incentives.  

WIC 

The budget includes a cut to WIC through slashing the cash value benefit that supports the purchase of fruits and vegetables for pregnant and postpartum individuals and their children. This cut would severely limit WIC households’ ability to purchase fruits and vegetables at a time when food prices are increasing. WIC participants currently receive $26 for children and between $48 and $52 for pregnant and postpartum individuals each month to purchase fruits and vegetables. The president’s budget calls for a return to the cash value benefit level established prior to the 2024 WIC food package rule, which was only $9 for children and $11 for adults.   

WIC must be fully funded without any benefit cuts to ensure families can access the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.  

Summer EBT 

The proposed budget includes a reduction in funding for the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (Summer EBT) Program of $591 million for benefit dollars (equating to benefits for approximately 4.9 million children) and $94 million in administrative funding for state operations. While this is a sizable amount of money, the fiscal year 2026 estimated budget most likely included funding for states that have since pulled out of the program for summer 2026, including Indiana and Utah (decreasing the number of children served by almost 900,000 combined). At the time of the FY 2026 budget, Texas was also considering operating Summer EBT, which would have served over 3.7 million additional children. With the passage of H.R. 1, Texas’ governor vetoed funding in the state budget for the program. 

The loss of these states could account for most of the decrease in appropriations for Summer EBT heading into fiscal year 2027, as the administration is anticipating no additional states will be choosing to operate the program in summer 2027. The administration may also be assuming fewer children will be served as a result of the SNAP cuts in H.R. 1 or that more states will drop out of the program. However, it is essential that all states participate in the Summer EBT Program to help close the summer hunger gap, and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) be prepared to fully cover the costs for all eligible children nationwide and for all states administering the program. 

Summer and Afterschool Meals 

For the second year in a row, the proposed budget eliminates funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), the only federal funding stream for summer and afterschool programming. According to the Afterschool Alliance, this funding serves over 1.4 million children across 10,000 programs across the country. Both summer and afterschool programming are essential to ensuring children have safe places to grow and thrive when school is not in session. Pairing the Summer and Afterschool Meals Programs with out of school time programming can help ensure children have access to adequate nutrition when school is out. This funding was restored in the FY 2026 budget after out-of-school time partners fought for it in Congress. 21st CCLC must be fully restored in the FY 2027 budget to allow summer and afterschool programs to operate, and to ensure we can connect children with the meals they need. 

Additional Proposals in the President’s Budget 

Beyond nutrition, the budget advances a broader agenda that would undermines economic opportunity, community stability, and democratic accountability. Funding cuts to housing and workforce development would weaken the very systems that allow families to move up the economic ladder.  At the same time, the administration proposes unprecedented increases in military and border enforcement spending, including costs associated with a military conflict, while failing to reinvest those resources in programs that directly improve Americans’ lives. For example, the budget provides: 

  • More funding for defense: The budget would allocate $1.5 trillion in funding, including a 28 percent increase from FY 2026 and a 44 percent increase for the Department of War. This includes funding for more shipbuilding, munitions, and missiles.   
  • Negative impacts on economic mobility and poverty: The budget would eliminate or significantly reduce funding for a range of programs that support pathways to economic mobility and poverty reduction, including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing grants under the Pathways to Removing Obstacles initiative, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Community Services Block grants,  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality initiatives, Department of Justice Community and Access to Justice offices, Equity Assistance Centers, the Minority Business Development Agency, Minority Serving Institutions, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, and Teacher Quality Partnerships. Collectively, these programs help communities expand affordable housing, provide capital to small- and minority-owned businesses, deliver local anti-poverty services, improve educational and workforce outcomes, and address health barriers that limit economic participation.  
  • Reduced refugee support and community safety: Drawing from the Working Families Tax Cut (WFTC), President Trump aims to eliminate funds from organizations that assist refugees and unaccompanied children to increase funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This would eliminate funding for these organizations that promote security and upward mobility for both adults and children. 
  • Erosion of federal institutions that safeguard public health, housing, and economic protections: This budget proposes cutting funds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which would impact its ability to collect revenue from tax payers and could increase the share of audits conducted on families with lower incomes; cutting environmental justice programs from the EPA  that seek to remediate and prevent toxic harms that come from living in polluted environments that are unequally borne by those with the least wealth; and eliminating the remarkably successful Fair Housing Initiatives Program that assists people who have experienced housing discrimination and prevents future discrimination through testing and enforcement.  
  • Rolling back climate, jobs, and environmental protections: The budget reduces or eliminates funding for climate and environmental initiatives that expressly target people of color and those with low incomes by removing funding for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, environmental justice efforts, and grant-making programs. These changes would scale back training efforts, progress towards keeping harmful toxins and emissions out of neighborhoods, and the ability of NGOs to collect data and educate the public. Cuts to international climate adaptation for agriculture may affect our global food supply, with potential downstream impacts on grocery prices for people at home. 

The President’s Budget Fails Families 

Taken together, the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget priorities continue its shift away from investments that have consistently demonstrated positive returns for food security, health outcomes, and longer-term economic stability for all Americans, not just billionaires. Failure to restore SNAP, along with its reduction of WIC, combined with decreased funding for housing, and workforce development, raises significant concerns about addressing the affordability crisis and slow job market the country is experiencing. A budget that does not fully fund these foundational programs risks increasing hardship for millions of children, working families, older adults, and veterans, while diminishing the effectiveness of proven supports during periods of economic uncertainty.